Iran testing underground gas storage facility

PanARMENIAN.Net - Senior Iranian gas officials announced on Tuesday, June 12 that the country has started testing the Middle-East's first underground gas storage facility, which has a 3bln c/m capacity, Fars News Agency reported.

"Testing the Middle-East's first gas storage facility has started," Managing-Director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Javad Oji said in Tehran.

Oji, who is a deputy oil minister for gas affairs, further added that the facility "has a capacity of storing 3bln cubic meters of gas".

Oji had earlier announced that the country's underground gas storage facility named Serajeh is ready for launch. He said last month that the volume of gas stored in Serajeh underground gas storage facility has by the moment mounted to 350 million cubic meters.

Oji reiterated that storing gas at the facility has already started adding currently 3.5 million cubic meters of gas is being injected to the underground facility on a daily basis which will rise to 7 million cm/d step by step.

Since several years ago, the NIGC has started examination of storing gas in underground facilities, including Serajeh underground facility, near Qom City.

Injecting gas into Serajeh facility has started since October and continued without any interruption except a short period in winter which was the result of rising gas consumption due to cold snap.

The NIGC managing director said the volume of gas storage in Serajeh facility will hit 1.5 billion cubic meters up to the end of current Iranian calendar year (ending on March 20, 2013).

Under the fifth five year development plan's regulations, the NIGC should boost the country's gas storage capacity to 14 billion cubic meters up to 2015.